Yee Hawwwww

So we just got back from our vacation to Nashville, TN. It is actually the first family vacation we cheapskates have ever been on. We have made little over nighters here and there and of course have traveled back to see family, but we have never been on an official "family vacation." Now we have. The girls were great, our hotel was amazing and we had so much fun.

We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. The admission price was more than we would have liked (yes we are cheap) but we decided we better pay to see the likes of Hank Williams and such. I must say, even though I am not a big fan of country music, I really enjoyed it. It was fascinating to learn about the beginnings of country music and how it has progressed. We spent over two hours (with kids!) walking around and checking out the sights.

This car was decked out with guns for handles.
This was Elvis Presley's gold plated piano. Sorry for the poor pic quality but they didn't allow flashes.
While we were at the museum we made our way into the gift shop and Julia eyed this little gem. She was so thrilled with it and we figured she needed something to remember our trip by, so we got her the princess cowgirl hat. She didn't take it off the rest of the trip. She kept running around yelling "yee haw" and "giddy up." Apparently all the country music was rubbing off on her. Maybe we have the next Taylor Swift on our hands.
While we were wondering the mall we found a carousel. I could just see the wheels turning in Julia's head. The connection between the cowgirl hat and a pony to ride was just too perfect. There was no stopping her.
She named the horse "Snowflake." If you ask her what her favorite part of the trip was, well this was it. Of all the things we did, this was by far the favorite.

We then made our way to down town Nashville so Bryan could see if he could make it as the next country star by twanging his guitar in one of the local bars. Unfortunately Nashville just couldn't handle Bryan's calibur of talent, even with Julia on the drums, so we decided to just walk around instead. They just didn't appreciate Bryan's version of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem." Maybe it was becuase he wore just a vest and no shirt. His bulging muscles were too much to handle.

Julia thinks that Bryan should have played the Hard Rock guitar instead.


Since we obviously weren't going to make it in the country music business we decided to see how Julia could do with her photography skills. Other than cutting off the top of Bryan's head, not too bad.
Ahhhh, so you're supposed to play like that. Next time Bryan, next time. Either that or we'll get you a leather jacket. Maybe then they'll appreciate your skills.
The cowgirl found her horse.
We then made our way over to the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland resort. It was AMAZING. It was like an indoor tropical garden.
They had fountains and waterfalls everywhere.
Two cute cowgirls.
Looks like we are somewhere exotic. Is Nashville considered exotic?

The Grand Ole Opry. This is where the magic happens. Well that's what we hear since we didn't actually go inside.
On the drive back we paid homage to my daddy-o who served a mission in Kentucky and stopped in Bardstown at My Old Kentucky Home. This is where Stephen Foster was inspired to write the state song. It was so pretty. All the blossoms were out and the grounds were very nice. It made us want to skip and frolic through the trees and blossoms, but we contained ourselves.
If you are ever driving through Kentucky you should stop in Bardstown. Not only is it the bourbon capital of North America, but it is so quaint and has an amazing down town with great old buildings.
Well the vacation was a success!